Archive for April, 2008

April 21, 2008

Steve + Barry’s Report

… disappointing. The celeb-designed lines did not live up to their hype, as they mostly consisted of generic, solid-colored t-shirts and pants. The pants came in regular and short, which doesn’t work for a tall person like myself who can never find pants long enough, and the few offerings of shorts or skirts looked like designs that came out of Forever 21 four years ago, which means they were on the runway (if they ever made it there) five to six years ago.

In their defense, they did offer a very cute selection of accessories, including jewelry, sunglasses, and shoes, but at the store-wide price of $8.98 (yes, every item in there was $8.98), I’d rather shop at Ross for something that’s worth more than $5 but priced at $9.

I DID, however, buy some of the Starbury basketball shoes. I tried them on and they were solid, comfy, and pretty good lookin’. So I figured that rather than replace my $99 Nike Shox basketball shoes in a few months, I might as well buy a pair of $9 Starburys and see how it goes. They really are pretty attractive as well, as far as hightop basketball shoes can be.

April 18, 2008

Road trip to Steve & Barry’s

Okay, my road trip isn’t actually to the mass retailer, I’m headed to Galveston for a friend’s birthday beach bash, but on the way I have big plans for stopping by Katy Mills mall to check in to the Steve & Barry’s.

Why? To check out $8.98 lines BITTEN from Sarah Jessica Parker, dear by Amanda Bynes, and Eleven by Venus Williams. I’ve been curious about these mass market crossovers since they launched so long ago (Eleven is relatively new), so I am super excited to get to see the goods in person–will they be cheaply made? Will they fit wonky? I’ll report back!

April 17, 2008

SkinBella facial = so-so

Maybe I’m biased because I don’t really have problem skin, but my spa week treatment was not as exciting as I had imagined. Maybe it’s because I didn’t really realize that my SkinBella “facial” was a microdermabrasion treatment instead of the exfoliating-masque-extraction-moisturizing facial I was thinking of. milk + honey itself was nice enough, if a bit dark and cramped, with luxurious robes and a sweet staff–everyone I encountered, down to the woman emptying the dirty towel bin, was extraordinarily friendly.

Bottom line: though milk + honey is nice, I still don’t feel like I’ve had my first facial yet.

Tip: there’s still time left in Spa Week! It runs through Sunday, so book an appointment stat for milk + honey’s massage or mani/pedi, or one of the other salons!

Word on the street: the Hill Country Galleria iteration of milk + honey will let you book more than one Spa Week treatment, still for just $50 a pop!

April 15, 2008

Spa Week!

Spa Week is somehow little-known, but it’s amazing! Spas present several of their (normally very expensive services) for just $50! It’s to promote awareness and hopefully hook you on spa visits, but for me, it’s going to be my first facial.

Four Austin spas are participating:

milk + honey (2 locations: downtown & hill country galleria)
512.236.1115

Avant Salon Spa
512.502.8268

A Beautiful You Med Spa
512.336.1772

Spa at the Lake
512.263.7611

I will be hitting up milk + honey for a 45 minute skin Bella facial either today or tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Also, I am going the SUPER CHEAP route and buying a discounted $50 gift certificate here for only $35, making my facial $35 + tip. Sweet! I’ll also let you know if that works or not. :-) They do mail you the gift card, and I don’t know if it’s available for pick up, so that could be an issue if you’re thinking you’ll go the same cheapo route as me. However, they have other discounted cards for Kerbey Lane, Blue Dahlia, and milk + honey, so it’s worth clicking on.

April 11, 2008

Free yoga class! at lululemon

When I was a wee intern at Shape magazine, I was in charge of organizing the fashion samples that came in. It was there I learned to love lululemon athletica, this super-soft, super-stylish brand of yoga gear. Apparently it’s more than just yoga gear, but that’s the styling it has. Literally, they use the softest material you can imagine. Consequently, I’d be wary of actually wearing the stuff for fear of it showcasing my every lump and bump, but since I have never actually tried on a piece of their clothing, there’s little way for me to back this theory up.

BUT, they did open a showroom in Austin, and they offer free yoga classes every Saturday morning taught by a different yoga studio every month. This month is taught by Austin Kula Yoga, which is actually quite close to me and I tried their hip-hop yoga once. Anyway, 9 am Saturday morning, I’m gonna be scoping out the free offerings at lululemon. You should too.

April 10, 2008

artsy stuff is going on this week/end

Starting tonight, there’s tons of artsy stuff to do in Austin. There always is, but from Thursday night on, the city is focusing on it with Art City Austin. Tonight there’s a reception in the Second Street District to mark the opening of Art City Austin, with champagne and shopping. Doesn’t sound all that different than any of the happy hour-type things the Second Street boutiques usually host, but I guess there’s ART this time. Though some would argue that fashion is art, so there’s always art …

I will not be there, not because I think art is lame and boring, but because I find sand volleyball to be much less lame and boring. One member of my regular volleyball crew is having shoulder surgery tomorrow, so we’re getting in as much volleyball as we can before then. I will, unfortunately, have to leave to go pick up my dog from Tutoring at The Lee Mannix Center for Canine Behavior, where Lee Mannix, the area’s leading dog expert, is trying to train her not to fear/hate/annihilate all men. It’s not working so far, but I like Lee and hope he can do something about this. I got a dog with the hopes of bringing her everywhere and everyone being able to play with her … so far, not the case with this one. But hopefully we’ll get there.

April 9, 2008

mercury design studio

LOVED this store. I went by mercury design studio on Second Street today to do some research for an article I’m working on and I just loved it. If I had the money to buy hand-selected vintage chairs in perfect condition, I would. These are the things out of magazines. I mean, in the window is a crazy-awesome pair of orange-and-white chairs! You don’t even have to go in the store to see the awesomeness.

It’s laid out wonderfully, with these little nooks of different themes that change. There’s a great selections of gifties, from little silk travel cases to jewelry to bamboo-shaped pens to hand-pressed stationery. Seriously, if I had the money, I’d move in–or move all their stuff out, rather. The owner is a charming man … although I was excited when he complimented me on my purse, the next customer walked in and he complimented her on her sweater (it was cute)! That’s the kind of man he is though.

Lest you believe I just write positive reviews, I went into Sana Boutique and it was not awesome. Honestly, there was just very little inventory. What they had was neat, but not enough to warrant a trip there.

April 8, 2008

Track Tuesdays

Tonight I will be coaching a middle school track meet at St. Andrew’s. So don’t expect a wild what-to-do-list.

But if I weren’t coaching tonight, I’d playing some pickup volleyball at Zilker! Normally I don’t know anyone that goes out on Tuesday afternoons, but my friends are, so if you have any desire to play sand volleyball with less people around than Saturdays and Sundays, now is your chance.

Other things of note: you should definitely check out Extraordinaire. I went by there when it had just opened four months (and four days) ago, and the shop is a delight. It’s a “home” store in the sense that it has items for the home, but the idea behind it is to infuse daily living with design. The owner alternates between calling it a home store and a design store, but also sells chocolates and tea!

The owner is almost always there and loves talking about the products he’s chosen for the treasure-filled store. He imports lots of lines from Europe, and only carries artisanal American lines. Filled with different but astoundingly beautiful contemporary pieces, Extraordinaire is aptly-named and worth a stop at the corner of 6th and Lamar.

April 7, 2008

Monday March Madness

Except that it’s actually April. Tonight is still the championship game in college basketball, and with a Big 12 team in the final–Kansas–against a southern team–Memphis–and the game being played locally–San Antonio–I’m guessing tonight will be a busy night in the sports bars.

Strangely enough, downtown/warehouse district sports bar Ringers abruptly closed its doors last month. Its website is still live, like an eery vestige to a life taken too soon (maybe I’m taking that too seriously). Rumors are swirling about how the owner didn’t even tell his employees he was closing shop, he just chained the doors shut and that was that. Classy, sports-loving Austinites still puzzle over how the only place to watch a game downtown and not feel like you’re still in college at Cain and Abel’s could possibly close.

In any case, it leaves just two downtown-ish venues for watching the game tonight: Third Base and The Tavern. I prefer the Tav, but it’s on 12th and Lamar, which isn’t quite downtown. And it looks like my north-dwelling friends are going to ask me to come up to Sam’s Boat for crawfish and sports, not a bad combo. Although I’d probably prefer the airy outdoors and people-watching at Doc’s, I can’t blame the northerners for not wanting to drive that far south.

April 3, 2008

Thursday: Fashion Fashion Fashion

As many Thursdays go in Austin, there plenty of happy hour events to stop by for free food and drinks. It’s easy to eat/drink freely here! Here are my top two happy hour events … Both feature free food; one features free drinks; both are see-and-be-seen affairs.

Fashion Lounge at Pangaea: if you ever wanted to get into this club without the pointless wait and pretentious bouncer, now’s the time. Cute boutiques and mini-makeovers will make this one a bigger event than most Thursday happy hours. Definitely worth stopping by if you’re out!

Kendra Scott Launch at Eliza Page: also sponsored by Austin Monthly, this event will be the typical boutique-drink affair, with snacks by Imperia, which means it’ll be fun if you bring fun friends!

… I’ll be throwing around a football in preparation for this weekend’s games, but I might stop by Pangaea if that gets done in time.

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